John Page Williams

The newest boat in the 5 Series from Catalina Yachts is the 315, and she carries the big-boat features of her larger, award-winning sisters, the 445 and 335. The low-profile cabin reduces windage, while the wide deck allows safe...

Sea Ray continues to refine the 210 SLX, its popular 21’ bowrider sport boat. For 2012, look for a fundamentally sound vessel with power options ranging from a 220-hp 4.3L V6 MerCruiser MPI with Alpha I sterndrive to a...

Ever wonder why search-and-rescue agencies and tactical law-enforcement units buy and use RIBs (Rigid Inflatable Boats) instead of hard-sided hulls? Consider their needs: speed, safety, seaworthiness and a comfortable ride in extreme conditions. Several companies in the U.S. build...

Yanmar has just introduced its new 8LV320/370 marine engine, the next-generation, electronic successor to its long-running 315-hp 6LPA-STP2 mechanical diesel. With twin turbochargers and direct fuel injection, this new V-8 meets EPA Tier 3 emissions standards, while providing quiet,...

Maverick Boat Company, the parent of Cobia Boats, is known for its line of shallow-water skiffs and bay boats, but the guys who build them fish offshore, too, and they spend time on the water with their families. Cobia’s...

Roger Brooks plays a key role in the boatbuilding community around Washington, North Carolina. His Brooks Boatworks makes the tooling, including the hull molds, for several well-known boat companies, and he does some semi-custom fabrication to order, including the...

Share this Article On For a century, Beals Island in Downeast Maine has been Ground Zero for the design of lovely, able, and fast “skeg-built” lobsterboat hulls. Calvin Beal, Jr. is a member of that long line of designers....

Share this Article On Competition among outboards in the broadly popular 150-hp class just got stiffer. Mercury has introduced a versatile, naturally aspirated 150-hp 4-stroke outboard that somehow becomes the lightest in its power class (455 lbs.) while offering...

Just because a boat is “manufactured” on an assembly line in a huge plant doesn’t mean that it won’t show off its builder’s craftsmanship. A corporate builder like Beneteau is large enough to front the capital for a lamination/extrusion...

Skippers on the Maine/New Hampshire coast tend to favor seaworthiness and efficiency over raw speed. Seaway Boats, originally designed and built in Maine but now a division of Eastern Boats in Milton, New Hampshire, fit this model. My sea...